Christian Bager Poulsen



D.O.B: 28/02/1980 in Asnæs, Denmark
Position: Defensive midfielder
Squad number:
Nationality: Danish
Height: 1.82m (6'0")
Weight: 76kg
Nickname(s):

Serie A debut: Fiorentina 1-1 Juventus 31/08/08

2001-02 FC Copenhagen A 13 2
2002-03 FC Copenhagen A 29 9
2003-04 Schalke 04 A 24 1
2004-05 Schalke 04 A 27 -
2005-06 Schalke 04 A 32 -
2006-07 Sevilla A 33 1
2007-08 Sevilla A 29 3
2008-09 Juventus A 23 1
2009-10 Juventus A 25 -


Honours

Danish Superliga (FCK) (2000-01)
European Super Cup (Sevilla) (2006)
UEFA Cup (Sevilla) (2007)
Copa del Rey (Sevilla) (2007)
Supercopa de España (Sevilla) (2007)
Danish Player of the Year (2005) (2006)


Born in Asnæs, Christian Poulsen started playing youth football in the local club. He moved to amateur club Holbæk B&IF, where he made his senior debut at 17 years of age, captaining the side on several occasions. He was called up for the Danish under-19 football team in September 1998, and played four games for the team.

In September 2000, he tried out for F.C. Copenhagen (FCK) in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship, and signed his first professional contract with the club within a week. Poulsen got his breakthrough in Denmark when he took a commanding role in the attacking midfield of FCK, following the heart problems of former Norwegian international midfielder Ståle Solbakken in March 2001. Poulsen quickly made his mark on the league, and helped his club win the 2000-01 Superliga championship. He scored to 1-0 in the 3-1 win against second-placed Brøndby IF, which secured the league title.

Following a good start of the 2001-02 season, Poulsen was called up for the Danish national team by national manager Morten Olsen. He got his debut when he started the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands on November 10, 2001. FCK ended runners-up in the 2001-02 Superliga, and Poulsen was named FCK Player of the Year 2002. Christian Poulsen was called up for the Danish squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he was initially used as a substitute. He took part in all three group stage matches, gradually getting more playing time in each game. Following two yellow cards in the group stage, he was suspended when Denmark were eliminated in the knock-out phase.

After the 2002 World Cup, Poulsen made a €7M move, the most expensive sale by a Danish club at the time, to German club FC Schalke 04, where he looked to take over the position as holding midfielder left by veteran Czech international Jiří Němec. His start in Schalke was made easier by the fact that his team mate in the Danish national team, Ebbe Sand, also played for the club. Through his time at Schalke, Poulsen played a number of matches at right back, but eventually secured himself a spot in the central midfield for both club and country. Poulsen was selected for the Danish squad at the 2004 European Championship. He played three of Denmark's four games, before Denmark was eliminated from the tournament. His displays for Schalke and the Danish national team earned him the 2005 Danish Player of the Year award.

In June 2006, Christian Poulsen's contract with Schalke ran out. Long-lasting rumours linked him to several teams, including Italian clubs Internazionale F.C. and A.C. Milan, despite earlier Italian criticism of Poulsen's style of play. He eventually signed a contract with defending UEFA Cup champions Sevilla FC from Spain, the team that knocked Schalke out of the UEFA cup in the 2005-06 season. In his debut match for the club, Poulsen helped Sevilla win the European Super Cup trophy, with a 3-0 victory against FC Barcelona on August 25. Following his first month at the club, he was named the best new signing in Spain by Spanish sports daily Marca. He became the first player to be named Danish Player of the Year for two consecutive years, when he also won the 2006 award.

He helped Sevilla defend the UEFA Cup title, winning the 2006-07 edition of the tournament.

On 14 July 2008, Juventus FC announced the acquisition of Poulsen. The transfer cost is €9.75M, with a 4 year contract worth 3 million euros a year for Poulsen.

LOL I bet you were reluctant in making this thread.

Nice to have another blondie to complement Nedved.

We have a midfield of Mohamed and Christian now

Don't forget the star of David up front too

A team for all peoples.

No matter if your black or white

Poulsen adds to the injury list, he misses three weeks with a thigh muscle problem.

It seems clear to me that Poulsen is well out of favour with Ranieri, I'm not sure who bought him but Ranieri had the chance to get Xabi Alonso for about £3m more than he paid for Poulsen and right now he is behind Sissoko, Zanetti, Marchisio and Tiago when they are all fit. Don't be surprised if he is moved on in the summer, for a loss...

2008-09 Serie A stats

Games / Minutes: 23 / 1353
Goals: 1
Shots / off target / saved: 17 / 6 / 3
Assists / Completed: 15 / 1
Crosses / Successful: 8 / 2
Passes / Successful: 736 / 595
Interceptions / Successful: 3 / 2
Tackles / Won: 37 / 17
Balls stolen: 25
Challenges / Won: 40 / 29
Offsides: 0
Fouls: 29
Fouls suffered: 11
Cautions: 3
Expulsions: 0

Fenerbahce have offered €7.5m for Poulsen, which Juve have accepted. Fener would pay him a massive €4m per year, the player seems ok with this but so far his family are putting off the move, it seems his wife would be happier in Italy than Turkey.

Barca offer £13m for Poulsen

Juventus may well have found a buyer for outcast Christian Poulsen, as Barcelona have reportedly offered £13m.

The Danish midfielder was signed a year ago, but Coach Ciro Ferrara confirmed today that he is not in the plans for the new campaign.

“I spoke to Poulsen and made my point of view very clear,” said the tactician. “It is in any case pleasing to see someone train so diligently every day despite being in this difficult situation.”

Now according to Spanish newspaper ‘Sport,’ Barcelona have pinpointed Poulsen as the right alternative to Liverpool’s Argentine Javier Mascherano.

He turned down a proposal from Turkish outfit Fenerbahce last week, but would be far more amenable if the bid were to come from the European Champions.

Juventus could pocket the £13m and re-invest that into a striker or left-back.

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If this is true, ciao!

I dont know. £13m for Poulsen sounds too good to be true. I dont see why Barsa are willing to spend that much on him. It would be amazing if it were true as we can get two solid defenders for that.

Surely that's got to be BS

According to French reports Juve have agreed a deal with Marseille, Juve get €8m. Nothing official yet.

His agent reckons there are four English teams after him.

Did he even play for you lot last season? How did he do?

I think of a chicken every time I hear that name.

Chicken Poultry

When he was fit and getting a run he did well, but he often played second fiddle so couldn't get back in.

It is clear he is going to be sold or at least attempt to, to enable the club to bring in another defender.

We have too many midfielders at the moment to fit into that three behind Diego: Sissoko, Felipe Melo, Marchisio, Zanetti, Camoranesi, Tiago and Poulsen, one too many really.

You might be thinking that more often this season

Caceres set for Poulsen swap

Juventus are ready to kill two birds with one stone by exchanging Christian Poulsen with Barcelona centre-back Martin Caceres.

Ciro Ferrara has made it abundantly clear that Poulsen is not part of his plans and the Dane has received offers from Premier League sides Fulham, Tottenham, Sunderland and Liverpool.

However, according to Tuttosport there could be a deal in the offing with Barcelona for a straight swap.

It would allow them to bring in central defender Caceres, a 22-year-old Uruguayan, and release Poulsen to a club he appreciates.

Caceres was brought to Spain by Villarreal for less than £1m and impressed so much in two years on loan at Recreativo Huelva that Barca paid £15m for his services.

The Uruguayan has not been able to find much first team football at the Blaugrana and so would be happy for a switch.

“Juventus are the only club that could take Caceres from Barcelona,” said his agent – and former Juve striker – Daniel Fonseca.

“The two clubs have given each other 10 days to figure out the internal details. I am optimistic, the deal can be concluded.

“Juventus insisted a great deal with Barca for this player.”

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I'd take that deal, but I'd rather it was for a fullback.

Sky Sports (UK) says that Liverpool are closing in on a deal for Poulsen after they agreed to sell Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. Obviously this suits us perfectly if true as the club have been desperate to sell him but he has been rejecting everyone, I can't see him rejecting Liverpool.

This will be weird, you already lost Nedved now you lose Poulsen would mean you have no blondes on your roster.

Don't rate Poulsen at all. I could understand him as a replacement for Mascherano but for Alonso? This means even less creativity. If he is indeed the replacement I can say here and now Liverpool have no chance of winning the title unless he plans on buying 2 other expensive flair players on top.

But if it's just Poulsen, then game over

If he's not good enough for Juve, he's definitely not good enough for Liverpool

oh dear, desparation taking its toll

Poulsen is still a good player, when he has played he has done well, there are just better players in front of him at Juve now.

I guess he won't be going anywhere then, seeing as Aquilani moves to Liverpool.

So far he has turned down Fenerbahce (didn't like Turkey) and Fulham (too small). Lots of teams want him but none want to pay lol, I guess money is tight.

Fiorentina are the latest to be linked, I hear they have a few quid spare We should do any deal with them, he is good but unlikely to hurt us in the future even if they are a rival. Viola also have his countryman Jorgensen.

Poulsen wins Ferrara praise

Ciro Ferrara has complimented Christian Poulsen for his comportment during the summer while Juventus unsuccessfully attempted to offload him.

The Danish international was deemed as surplus to requirements in Turin following his difficulties since joining in the summer of 2008.

However, after his refusal to move to Fenerbahce or Fulham, Poulsen will now remain with the Old Lady given that the club yesterday sold Cristiano Zanetti to Fiorentina.

“Zanetti was given the chance to join Fiorentina and get a new contract,” said Ferrara. “But we have enough cover, especially as Poulsen will now stay.

“He has worked hard in training and worked seriously, to the point when I complimented him for his professionalism during our retreat in Pinzolo.”

Juventus had enjoyed a decent pre-season, even collecting a win over Real Madrid, but they were brought back down to earth on Friday after suffering a 4-1 reverse to Villarreal.

“One defeat won’t be enough to knock our confidence,” added the new boss. “We are looking to build a team which can last the distance and reach important objectives.

“Those targets remain the same even after our reverse in Salerno last week.”

Football Italia

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He has been very professional, I have no problem with him staying as he is a good backup for Felipe Melo. Apparently Poulsen dusted everyone else in fitness training at Pinzolo.

Grrrr... so he stays... never like him...

Last night Denmark were being run ragged by soem amazing play from Chile.
You can say what you like about Poulsen, but he's the guy you want putting out fires in midfield when your teams on the ropes. Without him we would have lost by far more than 2-1...

Barcelona still want him, they might come back in January but it will interesting to see if Poulsen is still around the first team picture then as Sissoko will come back from injury and then go to the African Cup of Nations so we will need him in probability.

Crazy looking Christian was great against Udinese, probably his best game in a Juve shirt.

And people like Toby doubt him, pfft

Blog: Great Dane



Christian Poulsen has had to take on the critics since his switch to Juventus. But, as Karsten Krogh asks, when will he get the credit he deserves?

It was never going to be easy for Christian Poulsen to go to Juventus last summer. As everyone knows, he was on the receiving end of a little Francesco Totti phlegm at Euro 2004 and a few years later he and Gennaro Gattuso had their own little clash when Schalke and Milan met in the Champions League. In Italy Poulsen was blamed as the instigator of the aggression in both cases – wrongly – and he has suffered ever since.

For some reason, Italians tend to think that Poulsen is a dirty, technically hopeless player who relies on persistent fouling and running. His performances so far this season – in which he has overshadowed the much-hyped Felipe Melo – have shown that he is a technically adept and intelligent player.

He hardly ever loses possession and his vision is more than decent – exemplified by his assist to the winning goal this weekend against Udinese when his brilliant pass found Martin Caceres, who then just as brilliantly volleyed the ball across to Fabio Grosso and an open goal.

As usual Poulsen’s part in the goal was not mentioned anywhere. Journalists seem determined to ignore Poulsen’s positive achievements, especially when his play does not fall into the easy 'technically-inept-and-clueless-hard-man' category. Lazy journalism, really.

The media may not have realized it yet – or they may simply have decided that they don’t want to – but the Juventus Coaches have seen that Poulsen is quite a decent player, whether we are talking Claudio Ranieri or Ciro Ferrara.

The proof is in the team selection. After 13 Serie A games this season, Poulsen has started in nine and played in 11 games. Last term he played 23 Serie A games and started 14 – and he was injured for more than two months in the middle of the season which means that he almost only missed the games he was injured. In both seasons he has gotten lots of playing time in the Champions League as well.

If Christian is such a terrible player why do the Coaches persist in selecting him for almost every single match. Are Claudio Ranieri and Ciro Ferrara idiots? Or have they seen something the media has not?

On the Danish national team, which just qualified for the World Cup as winners of their group ahead of Portugal and Sweden, Poulsen has been the best performer for the entire campaign. By now, he is the de facto leader of the Danish team even if older players like Martin Jorgensen and Jon Dahl Tomasson are ahead of him in the captain hierarchy.

In the last six years for Denmark, Poulsen has matured from a workmanlike player with limited technical skills and vision to a complete central midfielder who hardly ever plays a bad game. The Danish national team would be completely lost without him.

I talked to Poulsen for a magazine interview last summer right before he moved to Italy and Juventus. At that time – after an impressive spell at Sevilla – many big clubs were after his signature and he chose the most difficult country possible. Wanting to know if he knew what he was getting himself into, I asked him: “Do you have any idea what they think about you in Italy?”

He simply said: “I think my clashes with Gattuso and Totti were blown out of proportion and I’d like to show people that I can cut it a top club like Juventus. If I play well hopefully the sceptics will come around. If I don’t, the criticism will be my own fault. That’s professional football.” And that’s a typical Poulsen answer – just like his playing style, really. Simple, composed and ambitious.

Isn’t it time Poulsen got fair treatment by the Press and was accepted as the quality player that he has proven he is?

Karsten Krogh is a Danish sports journalist and Serie A commentator for Canal +.

http://www.football-italia.net/blogs/kk1.html

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Obviously the guy is Danish and is biased, having seen him be a key player for Denmark over the last few years, but he is getting a little carried away. Poulsen has been poor or average in many of his games, but when he does play well - as he did against Udinese - he does get the credit from even his staunchest critics as far as fans are concerned, if maybe not the press.

I think he is starting to understand the Italian game better now and even looked like a leader out there on Sunday night, we need him to be available to step up for the biggest games when Melo, Sissoko or Marchisio are not at their best or need a rest. He certainly has more about him than Tiago.

He has broken his fibula, out for maybe 2 months